An Unconventional Family
by damnmysterytome
Summary: Snapshots of Merle and Carol's life together while they attempt to give Merle's little brother, Daryl, a decent home he doesn't have to be afraid to come home to. Young!Marol raising Daryl. AU. No zombies.


**Okay so, I ****_know _****this one might be a tiny bit weird for some people, but I really love the idea of the age difference between Merle and Daryl being fairly large (10+ years is my favorite, in this it's about 14) and for ****_some _****reason, I also like the idea of them basically taking care of Daryl together because Merle and Daryl's parents are useless sacks of rotten potatoes. Originally this was just going to be part of Unconnected, but I have a lot of ideas to go with it, so I decided I wanted to give it its own series.**

**I know that the chances of these being in chronological order are slim, I'm not even going to try. But I will give a timeline if it's before Daryl's the age of 5 or after.**

**This goes out to my dearest friend, pugster20, who never ceases to give me amazing support and let me bounce every idea I've ever had off of her.**

* * *

An F? Carol couldn't believe that she had gotten an F, she had never gotten an F. Ever in her twelve years of schooling. Carol stared at the piece of paper, at the large red F, as she went down to her locker and got her things out of her locker. She couldn't believe it, how could she gave gotten an F? She studied all night, worked her ass off as she normally did. This was going to ruin her GPA. Maybe she could talk to her teacher, see if there was a retest she could take.

An F was just not acceptable. Carol shoved the test into her locker and pulled her bag out of the metal container, pushing the school books she was going to need in the small black book bag. She stared at the piece of paper on the floor of her locker, her eyes immediately going to the large red F and she slammed the door shut, leaning against the locker. She let out a soft groan and pushed herself off the locker, lifting her back up and holding it over her shoulder as she left her high school and walked out to the parking lot where she knew her boyfriend would be waiting.

Carol Reynolds was a senior in high school, just under a month away from graduation, just under a month away of being able to get out of town. That was the plan for the past two and a half years, she and Merle were going to take his five year old brother, Daryl, and get out of town. Originally the plan had been to go to Alabama but when Carol got the accepted into a college in South Carolina, they changed the plan. Merle and her had been looking at apartments in the area where he and Daryl could stay while she was in school for her freshmen year. The only thing that needed to be done now was for Carol to graduate, but she couldn't graduate if she was failing a glass.

Carol walked up to the passenger side door of her mothers old Jeep she'd gotten for her sixteenth birthday and opened the door, shoving her bag onto the floor before climbing into the jeep, pulling the door shut. She was happy that Daryl wasn't there to see her so angry, if he'd seen her slam the door shut he probably would have been terrified.

Merle looked over at her in surprise when she slammed the door shut and raised an eyebrow as she sat back in the seat. "Bad day?" He asked. Carol looked over at him and bit her lip, she didn't want to tell Merle that she was pissed at herself for getting an F. Merle would probably laugh at her, when Merle was in school he didn't give a shit about his grades. Hell, he barely went to school, he stayed home to keep his brother safe from the temper of their father. When he was in school, Daryl was barely two years old, he didn't need to be knocked around by his father. The day he turned sixteen three years ago, he dropped out of school.

At that time, he and Carol had only talked a few times, she'd actually had a huge crush on him then. They didn't see each other again until a year later and on a whim, Carol had asked him out. Imagine her surprise when he said yes. From that day, they were inseparable. And she loved his little brother as much as she loved him. Merle could still remember the first time that Carol saw his father about to hit Daryl. It was six months into their relationship, just after Daryl had turned three. She hadn't even thought about it, she scooped Daryl up in her arms and looked Will Dixon in the eye and threatened him, told him if she ever saw him put his hands on Daryl again she'd come back with a shotgun. She was only fifteen at the time, less than a third his fathers size, but she stood her ground while holding Daryl in her arms. Merle had been sure his father was going to kill everyone in the house when she got in his face, but all he did was leave the house and drink some more. Now that he looked back on it, it was that moment that Merle had realized he loved Carol.

"You could say that." Carol said and she leaned over, pressing her lips into his. Even though she was still angry with herself for failing, Merle's presence made her feel better. Wasn't like Merle would be angry with her anyway, Merle would probably be proud of her for failing. She leaned her forehead against Merle's forehead and let out a soft sigh. "How was work?" She asked as she leaned her head and nuzzled the side of Merle's neck. Despite being in public and in her jeep where they could easily be seen, Carol's mouth connected with his flesh, pressing several soft kisses and nipping at his skin.

Merle shut his eyes briefly, smirking slightly as he felt the kisses and soft bites on his skin. "Fine." He said as Carol pulled away from him and pressed her lips against his. "You know we have to go pick up Daryl." Carol licked her lips and pulled away, nodding.

"I know." Carol said and kissed his lips again before sitting back in the seat and reaching up to pull the seat belt down so she could buckle up. Merle turned the engine on and pulled his own seat belt back on before he pulled out of the school's parking lot, driving across town to the elementary school Daryl attended.

"So what happened?" Merle asked, glancing at Carol as they sat at a red light. She glanced him briefly and sighed, shrugging.

"Nothing. Just... Being stupid. Not a big deal, don't worry about it." She said, turning to look out the window. Merle frowned, normally when she had a bad day Carol would just talk about it with him. He couldn't do anything to help her out, but she always said that just telling him her issues always made her feel better. He wondered what was so different about this moment.

"Ya sure?" He asked.

Attempting to change the subject, Carol crossed her legs and rest her hands on her thighs. "What do you want for dinner tonight? I'm craving pizza." Carol said. Merle frowned at the change in subject, now he knew something had really gotten her upset. The light turned green and Merle started to drive again.

"Come on, what's wrong, Carol? Other times when somethings bothering you, I can't get you to shut up." He asked with a slight teasing tone to his voice.

Carol took a breath and frowned. She had hoped Merle would just be happy she didn't want to talk. "Merle, I really just don't want to talk about it, okay?" She asked with an edge to her voice.

Merle picked up on that quickly and he nodded. "Alright." He glanced at her repeatedly while he drove. He couldn't imagine what had got her so bent out shape that she wouldn't even talk about it, but he knew he needed to cheer her up. He didn't like seeing her look so depressed. Stopping at another red light, Merle looked at her. "Do you have the time?" He asked.

Carol frowned and looked at her boyfriend, then looked down at the radio. "Merle, it's 3:56. The clock is right there." She pointed towards the radio.

She was not going to make this easy, was she? "No, the time to write down my number?"

She raised her eyebrow, licking her bottom lip. "Merle, we have the same phone number, we live together."

Merle frowned, alright that didn't work. He thought of the other cheesy pick up lines he knew, starting the car up again. They were only a few minutes away from the elementary school, they'd get there just in time that Daryl would only be waiting for a few minutes before they got there. "Did you sit in a pile of sugar? Cause you have a pretty sweet ass."

Carol's lips twitched upwards in a smirk as she realized what Merle was doing and she shook her head. "Jesus, Merle." She said. Merle looked at her and a small smile formed on his face when he noticed the small smile on her face.

"Got ya ta smile, didn't I?" He asked. Carol leaned over and kissed his cheek softly as Merle pulled up into the elementary school parking lot. He didn't bother looking for Daryl, knew exactly where Daryl would be waiting. Daryl would be waiting out in the playground ontop of the monkey bars, it was where none of the other kids would try to get him.

"I'll be right back." Carol leaned over to kiss his lips softly and undid her seatbelt, climbing out of the car.

Merle leaned over to look out the window, calling after Carol. "Do you have a sunburn, or are you always this hot?" Carol turned around to face him and shook her head, hiding her hand so she could flip him off. He grinned at his girlfriend and leaned back into ihs seat. She walked up the familiar path, nodding to some of the mothers that knew who she was, knew that she took care of the Dixon boy. People used to think that Carol was Daryl's mother when she and Merle first enrolled Daryl into the elementary school. She walked up to the playground and started towards the monkey bars, crossing her arms when she noticed five year old Daryl sitting up on top of the monkey bars.

Carol stood in front of the monkey bars and crossed her arms. "Hey, Monkey. Gonna come down or do I need to come up there?" She asked, hoping Daryl would pick the first option. Even if the monkey bars were only a few feet up in the air, being up on top of them like Daryl scared the hell out of her. He scooted close to the edge and looked down at her as Carol stood on her toes and gingerly picked up Daryl, resting the five year old on her hip and leaning down to pick up his bag off the ground. "How was school?" She asked as she walked back to the car.

"Fine." Daryl mumbled, hiding his head in her shoulder.

"Kids still giving you a hard time?" She asked. Daryl nodded, hiding his head in Carol's curly hair. Carol frowned softly, wishing she could stop the kids from picking on Daryl. It wasn't his fault that his father was a piece of shit who didn't take care of his kids. She patted his back as she stopped at the car, opening the back seat and putting Daryl into the car. She bucked Daryl into the car, shutting the door and climbing back into the Jeep.

Merle craned his head to look back at his brother and reached back to playfully grab his brothers small foot. Carol smiled as she heard Daryl laugh at his big brother, putting her seatbelt back on. "Hey, kid. Learn anything new today?" He asked his little brother. Carol tilted her head as she watched Merle and Daryl, she always loved to watch him and his brother.

"No." He said. Carol and Merle both laughed as Merle turned around and started the car up, pulling out of the parking lot.

Merle glanced at his brother in the mirror, making sure that Daryl was alright in the backseat. "Yeah, me neither."

"What do you want for dinner, Daryl?" Carol asked.

Daryl kicked his legs against the car seat, looking down at the ground. He never understood why he had to go to school, he didn't learn anything anyway and all that ever happened he was bullied. He could barely read, could barely write his name, could barely do anything. He was much happier when he was with Carol and Merle, where he was safe from the kids at school and his parents. "Um... pizza!" He exclaimed. Carol grinned and looked back at him.

"You read my mind." She said and turned her head to look at Merle. She was still in a terrible mood, but she felt a lot better with her two favorite boys. She leaned back into the seat and she crossed her legs.

Merle glanced at Carol again, wondering if she felt any better. He didn't want to ask in front of his kid brother, didn't know what could be bothering Carol anyway. They stopped at another red light, it seemed like today they were hitting every single red light they could find.

Merle drove to the local pizza shop before he climbed out of the jeep to go place an order for pizza.

Carol was still silent, which even five year old Daryl knew wasn't normal for her. "Carol? Are you okay?" He asked. Carol unbuckled her seat belt so she could turn around to face Daryl.

"Yeah, just had a bad day." She said softly.

Daryl glanced around nervously, normally when someone – his father or mother – had a bad day, he got punished for things he didn't do. "Nothing I did?"

Carol's face fell and she felt tears come in her eyes. "No, sweetheart, no." She reached her hand back and took his small hand in hers. "Heavens no. I feel a little better being with you and your brother." Her reassurance made Daryl feel better and he smiled slightly. Carol adjusted and crawled into the backseat with Daryl, she knew it would be a while before Merle came back with pizza. She unbuckled Daryl's seat belt and pulled her boyfriends brother into her lap, pushing his light brown hair from his face. Carol pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "You did nothing wrong, okay? School just... Sucked. We're gonna go home, have some pizza, do some reading.." Carol laughed at the face he made at that. "Then we'll watch a movie and you will get to sleep in a nice big bed."

For the most part Carol lived with just Merle and Daryl, her father had passed away when she was Daryl's age and her mother was never home. Her mother was a nurse at the hospital in the next town over and she kept a small apartment there when she worked during the week. She came home on the weekends to spend time with Carol. She wasn't exactly a huge fan of Merle Dixon, but she knew how much Merle meant to her daughter, so she allowed him to stay with her while she wasn't home. At least she wouldn't be alone, she would be with someone who would protect her. Her mother knew about the abuse that Daryl and Merle suffered, she was a nurse, she could see it a mile away. "I like when me and Merle stay with you." Daryl said. Carol smiled softly, stroking his hair.

"Yeah, I like it too. In a few months, it'll just be us. You, me and Merle. A new start." Carol rest her chin on Daryl's head, shutting her eyes. They weren't going to get that new start if she failed another test. "I love you, kid." Carol said softly and pressed another kiss on his forehead.

"I love you too, Carol." He said in that same small voice he always did when he didn't want to cry. Carol smiled softly and sat in the backseat with him until she noticed Merle coming out of the pizza palor.

The guilt in Carol's stomach made her feel sick, she was a lot smarter than an F. She had a lot riding on her. "Look, it's Merle and he's got dinner." Carol said, softly tickling Daryl. Daryl laughed and squirmed away from her, crawling off her lap. She smiled and buckled him back up, climbing out of the Jeep and holding the door open as walked over to the car and put the pizza in the backseat next to Daryl.

Remembering the last time they got pizza where Daryl had gotten into the pizza before they even got home and after a speed bump and the scolding hot pizza fell on Daryl, Merle leaned his head into the car. "Keep yer paws off, Daryl. Don't want ya to get hurt again. We can eat when we get home, okay?" Daryl nodded as his brother shut the door and he watched as Carol and Merle kissed, making a disgusted face at it.

Carol came back around the Jeep and climbed into the front seat, trying to keep her smile on her face. She didn't want Daryl to think he'd done something wrong and that was why she was upset, but she couldn't stop seeing that big red F whenever she shut her eyes or blinked.

Merle looked over at Carol as he redid his seatbelt. "So uh... How was heaven when you left it?" He asked with a cheesy grin on his face.

Carol gturned to look at Merle and she shook her head. "Cut it out, Merle." She said and reached her hand over to pinch behind his ear.

Daryl frowned, looking between his brother and his brothers girlfriend. Grown ups were weird.

* * *

After dinner, Carol and Daryl sat on the couch in the living room with a childrens book, Carol trying to help Daryl learn how to read. Merle wasn't very good with reading either, if anyone could teach Daryl how to read it was Carol. It had started to rain after they had gotten home, so they were all sitting up in the living room.

Daryl struggled with reading, Carol knew that. She tried to help him as best as she could, but their sessions typically ended with a tantrum.

"I can't do it!" Daryl shouted, grabbing the book from Carol and tossed it across the room. Carol jumped back in surprise and glanced up at Merle who had opened his mouth to scold his brother. She shot him a warning look and Merle shut his mouth. "I'm stupid, I'll never learn this!"

Merle stood to his feet and came across the living room. He stopped first to pick up the book he'd tossed the ground before he walked over to the couch. When his brother visibly flinched, Merle knelt down so he was in front of him. He reached forward and tugged on his brother's chin gently so he'd look at him. "Ya listen here, Daryl. Ya ain't stupid. Readin' is fuckin' hard." Daryl looked up at his brother, he had almost expected his brother to pick up the book and whack him with it like their father would have. "I can barely fuckin' read."

Carol opened her mouth to scold Merle for swearing in front of Daryl, he was just a kid, he didn't need to know how to swear yet. "Everyone else in my class can read but me. They laugh at me when I try to."

Merle opened his mouth, but Carol cut him off, telling Daryl something that she hadn't even told Merle before. "When I was your age, everyone laughed at me when I read aloud. I couldn't say my r's at all. I called myself Ca'ol Eynolds. Every made fun of me. Called me all sorts of names. But I never stopped trying to learn how to say my R's. I showed them that they were wrong about me. Just like you're going to prove them wrong." Daryl looked up at Carol with wide, wet eyes at what she had said. He couldn't imagine Carol not being able to do something. Like is big brother, Daryl was sure that Carol could do everything with ease. "Your brother is right, reading is hard. But you'll get it, and it's okay to not get something right away. It's okay to struggle. But you are not stupid, Daryl Dixon."

Daryl brought one of his hands up to his face and wiped off the tears that had escaped his face. "I don't want to read anymore."

Merle brought the book up and tossed it over his shoulder. "Then you're done for the night. Right, Carol?"

She opened her mouth to tell him that Daryl should try again, he was so close to finishing that page. But when she looked down at the hopeless look on his face, she gave him a sad smile. "We'll try again tomorrow, okay?" Daryl nodded and looked down at his legs. "Why don't you go pick a movie?" Carol said. "Anything you want." Daryl nodded quickly and climbed off the couch, taking off into the den where her movie collection was. Merle sighed and sat up on the couch next to Carol. She stood to her feet and moved to sit on his lap, sighing as his arms came around her.

"Ca'ol Eynolds, eh?" He asked.

"Shut up, Me'le." Carol mocked herself, leaning back against him. "I just want to help him. I know he can do it, he's such a smart kid. I just wish he knew it." Merle leaned his head on her shoulder and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"I don't have a library card, do you mind if I check you out?" Merle asked after a moment of silence. Carol grinned and shook her head, looking back at him. She leaned back to kiss his lips softly when there was a crash from the den and a loud wail came from Daryl.

"Daryl!" Carol shouted and bolted from his lap and ran towards the den, Merle following close behind. Daryl was sitting on the ground next to the end table by the den, holding his head and crying. Carol leaned down and picked up him in her arms, quickly shushing him. "What happened, baby?" She asked as Merle came into the room behind her. Between his sobs, Daryl told her that he'd tripped and hit his head against the table.

Merle pulled Daryl's hand from his head inspect his head, cursing when he saw the blood gushing from his head. He left the den again and Carol comforted Daryl until he returned with a towel, pressing it to Daryl's head. "Its alright, Daryl, yer gonna be okay. Stop cryin'." He mumbled, wishing his brother would cut it out. Wasn't that his cryin' made him mad, it made Merle anxious. He never knew what to do when Daryl was crying, all he knew is that he wanted it to stop. Carol pressed her hand to the towel and turned to head into her kitchen where they would be better light. She set Daryl up on the counter and pulled the towel from his head, using it to wipe the blood off.

"You're gonna be okay, Daryl. It's not bleeding anymore." Carol said, tossing the towel into the trash. "Merle, will you get the first aid kit out of the bathroom?" She said as she ran some water and dipped another towel in it as she tried to calm him and clean off the blood from his head. "Be a big brave boy for me and I'll make Merle go out and get us some ice cream, alright?" Daryl sniffled and nodded as Merle returned with the first aid kid.

"See? Already done bleedin'." Merle said, nodding at the wound on his head.

"Yeah, but here comes the unfun part." Carol said and she opened up the peroxide. "This is gonna burn, but just remember the ice cream, okay?" She asked. Daryl nodded as she poured some of it on a cotton ball and turned back to Daryl. She bit down on her lip as she dapped it on the wound, cringing as Daryl whined. "I know, I know. At least it doesn't need stitches." Carol said and turned back to pick up a band-aid to put it on his head. "There, that's my big brave boy." Carol picked him up off the counter and set him on the ground.

"Is Merle gonna go get ice cream now?" Daryl asked, looking up at them.

Merle looked to his girlfriend. "Did I say I would gonna do that?" He looked down at his little brother.

"Carol said you would." Merle raised his eyebrow and looked at Carol.

"Did she?" Carol smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Alright, I'm goin'. Behave yerself, Daryl." He said before picking up Carol's car keys and leaving the house.

"Alright, lets get you cleaned up and into your pajamas, alright?" Carol asked, taking Daryl's hand.

Begrudingly, Daryl followed Carol up to the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom that Daryl slept in when he and Merle stayed the night at her house. He liked staying there with her, her house was huge. Daryl had gotten lost in the house several times. Carol got Daryl bathed and changed into his Batman pajamas, carrying him into the living room just as Merle returned from the store. She grinned upon seeing him and walked over to Merle.

"Whoa, where did Daryl go? All I see is Batman." Merle said as Carol came over to him, setting the grocery bag on the counter.

Daryl laughed, the wound on his forehead forgotten. "It's me, Merle!"

"What? You're Batman? Aw, shit. Joker better look out." He said as he started to pull out single pint ice cream containers. "Alright, I got chocolate for Daryl." An excited 'yay!' came from the child on Carol's hip, which caused Merle to grin. "Strawberry for Carol." An excited 'yay' came from his girlfriend this time. "And mint chocolate chip for m'self. What do you say we get that movie on, huh, Batman?" He asked as he put the ice cream containers back into the bag and got out three spoons, tossing them into the bag. He reached forward and took Daryl from his girlfriend, who went into the den to fetch the movie that Daryl had chosen. She laughed softly when she noticed that he had chosen _Die Hard_. He always choose that movie. Carol knew that at five years old, he shouldn't be waiting _Die Hard_, but it was is favorite and he loved it, so she couldn't say no to him.

Carol returned to the living room where Daryl was sitting next to Merle on the couch, ice scream container between his legs and his face already covered in chocolate. "Looks like we're watching _Die Hard_ again." Carol said, stopping in front of her television, kneeling down to put the movie in the VCR before she turned the television on and set it to the VCR mode. Carol picked up the strawberry ice cream container and a spoon, sitting on the opposite side of Daryl.

"Little brother's got good movie taste." Merle said as he opened up his own ice cream. Carol leaned over and pressed her lips into Merle's softly, surprising Merle and disgusting Daryl. Merle ruffled his brothers hair as Carol pulled away from Merle. She opened her ice cream up, taking a small bite, a smile forming on her face when she heard a voice in her ear; "Was that an earthquake or did you just rock my world?"

* * *

Three pints of ice cream and _Die Hard_ later, Daryl and Carol had both fallen asleep, leaving Merle up alone to clean up and get them both in bed. He stood to his feet and picked up the ice cream containers, taking them to the kitchen to toss the containers in the trash, returning to the living room to pick Daryl up and carry him to the guest room that was more Daryl's room now than a guest room. He opened the door and pulled the blanket back, resting his brother on the bed. Merle chuckled at the ice cream all over his face and he knew that he needed to clean his face off, Carol would yell at him if he didn't. Merle went to the bathroom and wet a rag, returning to the the bedroom to wipe his face off. He set the rag on the end table and looked down at his brother, feeling angry that his little brother couldn't even sleep in his own fucking bed because of their father.

Merle tried, he tried so hard to keep his little brother safe from it. When they stayed at home, he'd get in fights with his father so that his anger would be taken out on Merle instead of Daryl. Merle was nineteen, he was a man, he could deal with it. Daryl was only five, he was just a kid. He tried to keep his brother safe, but Merle couldn't be home all the time. He remembered once when he and Daryl had been camping outside under the stars, Daryl asked how come their parents didn't love them like other kids parents loved them. It almost made Merle cry, he couldn't come up with any answer for him. How do you explain to a little kid that some people just are not meant to be parents but end up having kids anyway?

He brushed hair from Daryl's face, at least he was safe here with him and Carol. He stood to his feet and walked over to the door, glancing back at his little brother in his bedroom. "Love you, kid." He mumbled before shutting the door. He went back downstairs, where Carol was fast asleep on the couch. He walked over to Carol and leaned down, picking her up bridal style in his arms. While he was walking upstairs, he knocked Carol against the wall on accident.

"Ow! What the crap!?" Carol exclaimed as she felt her head smack into the wall.

"Shit, shit, I'm sorry." Merle said, stopping and looking down at her.

Carol looked up at her boyfriend, frowning and glancing around. "The hell?"

"Ya fell asleep." Merle said as he started back up the stairs again, carrying her towards her bedroom when he was on the second floor of the house. Merle remembered the first time he brought Daryl over, Daryl didn't even know that houses _could _be two stories and he didn't even know how to walk up stairs. Carol had tried to hide her face from him, but Merle knew she'd cried over that. "Put Daryl in bed, just trying to get you in bed too." Merle said as he opened Carol's bedroom door and walked into her bedroom.

Carol's bedroom was exactly like Carol; clean, tidy and really organized. Everything had its place and if it was moved, it was returned in its space. In the corner of the room against her wall was her desk, which was just as organized as the rest of the room. Her closet next to the desk was clean, her clothes were sorted by color and type of clothing it was. The books on her bookshelf were organized by alphabetical order. Her room was completely spotless. Merle set her on the bed and Carol sat up, reaching down to undo her shoes. She climbed out of the bed and walked over to her closet, opening the closet door and setting her shoes in their place. She undressed from the clothes she'd been wearing for the day, putting on her pajamas. Merle had a drawer of clothes in her dresser, where he returned the clothes he'd been wearing all day. Merle knew better than to leave clothes on her floor.

Carol yawned and sat on hed bed, resting her arms on her legs. Merle crawled up on the bed and sat on the bed behind her, bringing his mouth over to her bare shoulder. "Gonna telling me what's got you so out of whack?" He asked.

She took a deep breath and looked back at him, moving to pull the blanket back and slipped her legs into the bed. "I got an F on an important test."

Merle raised an eyebrow. Seriously, that was it? "Seriously? That's what got you upset? An F?"

"I've never gotten an F before! I've never done worse than an A-." She said, throwing her arms on the blanket. "And... I got an F weeks before graduation. I can't afford to fail a class, _we _can't afford for me to fail." _Aw, shit. _Merle thought, glancing down at her arms. "We have too much riding on me graduating."

"Carol, look." He said, grabbing her face and making her look at him. "First off, it's one fuckin' F. It ain't the end of the world. And fuck, ya know what'll happen if you don't graduate?"

"We don't get to move and we don't get to get Daryl out of this terrible place and that's all my fault." She started to breathe heavily, reaching her hand up to run a hand through her hair.

"No. If you don't graduate this year, you'll just... Enroll in school in South Carolina, okay? Then we'll just do it again." Merle said, cupping the side of her face in his hands. Carol looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes.

Carol's bottom lip trembled and she shook her head. "Everything is riding on me and I feel like the world is going to crash on my shoulders if I fail."

Merle wrapped his arms around Carol and pulled her into his arms, sighing as her head buried into his shoulder and a sob shook her shoulder. "Ain't nothin' gonna crash on ya if you fail, got it? Just one fuckin' F." He ran his hand over her back, making her look at him when her sobs had subsided. "Actually kind of proud of ya for getting an F. Thought ya were inhuman with that shit."

Carol rolled her eyes and wiped her face off. "I just want to get Daryl out of here, I guess I put too much pressure on myself."

He snorted. "Ya guess? Ya put more pressure on yerself than I've ever seen anyone put pressure on anything. Ya told Daryl it's okay to struggle, maybe it's time you take your own advice."

"When did you get smarter than me?" Carol asked, resting her hands on the back of Merle's neck, her fingers running through the short strands of his hair.

Merle shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe yer rubbing off on me." Carol smiled and used the hands on Merle's neck to press her lips into his.

"Thank you."

"Fer what?" Merle asked against her lips as she pulled them back on the bed. He looked down at her, only able to see her from the light that was in the hallway and the street lights from outside. She was beautiful in the dim lighting, she was beautiful all the time.

"Always making me feel better. Even about the stupidest things." Carol said and leaned up to press her lips into his. Merle grinned against her lips, pinning a hand above her head. His mouth trailed down her jawline, his teeth gently tugging on her flesh. Carol pursed her lips to prevent from letting out a moan, knowing her door was open. "Merle, shut the door." She ordered. Merle let out a slight growl and he climbed off the bed, pushing the door shut.

He returned to the bed, crashing his lips against Carol's once he was back in the bed. Carol reached down to pull the t-shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor. Merle returned his mouth to her neck, Carol's breath hot on his neck as she spoke against his ear. "I was feeling a little off today, but you definitely turned me on."


End file.
